New Haven Independent

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and New Havener Dottie Green (the woman at left) wanted to do something special to honor civil rights hero Rosa Parks (shown in photo), who sparked the year-long boycott.

Green said she was inspired to call Friday “Thank you Rosa Parks Day,” and encourage everyone to ride the bus in memory of Parks’ contribution to civil rights, when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white man. The boycott began on Dec. 1, 1955.

A 1950s era bus was parked all day beside St. Paul’s Church at the corner of Chapel and Dwight. Inside were photos and other memorabilia of the bus boycott, and Friday evening the church hosted a program featuring music, dance and poetry to honor Parks.

p(clear). Green spoke to a crowd inside the bus, as rain poured down outside, including Barbara Fair (front left) and other adults and young people.

Another person on the bus was community activist Clifton Graves, who pointed out that even at the height of the civil rights movement, just 15 percent of African Americans were actively involved in it, “and look what we accomplished.” He said that should inspire people today to work for change, even if the whole community is not united. He also mentioned that he works for Amistad America, the non-profit that operates the schooner Amistad, a replica of the slave ship on which dozens of African revolted and sailed into New Haven harbor in 1839. After being imprisoned for a few years, they won their freedom and sailed back to Africa.

“It does relate to Rosa Parks, in that it’s part of a continuum. We’ve always had to fight for everything. The fight for justice continues to this very day.”

Speaking of history, Green said, “When you look to some of the history, you see that Rosa Parks is just one of many in the mix. But when you think about what she did on that day, it was just so powerful, because it pushed everything forward. People were just going along with the flow “” frustrated, but going along with the flow. And taking that stand “” that sit, rather “” really gave people the impetus [to fight back].

Bea Dozier Taylor, proprietor of A Walk in Truth bookstore in the Dwight neighborhood (pictured) set up the photo display and made tags for everyone to wear featuring a photo of Parks and the words, “Thank you Rosa Parks!”